Method, system, and program product for controlling a display on a data editing screen

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a method, system, and program product for controlling a display on a computer-aided design (CAD) data editing screen, whereby commands more likely to be utilized are preferentially displayed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending Japanese PatentApplication No. 2005-228490, filed 5 Aug. 2005, which is herebyincorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates generally to the control of graphical displays,and more particularly, to a method, system, and program product forcontrolling a display on a computer-aided design (CAD) data editingscreen, whereby commands more likely to be utilized are preferentiallydisplayed.

2. Background Art

In recent years, computer-aided design (CAD) systems have been widelyused for the mechanical design of products. A CAD system is applicableto a broad range fields from the design of ships or aircraft to thedesign of precision instruments. Further, CAD systems are applicable notonly to the design of a finished product but also the design of itscomponent parts. Such parts include, for example, printed circuitboards, sheet metal parts, plastic parts, etc.

Design processes of each part or the finished product vary according tothe type of part or finished product. For this reason, in order toincrease design efficiency, a conventional CAD system provides a userwith a large number of commands suitable for various design processes.If the number of commands is large, however, it becomes difficult forthe user to find commands applicable to the operation that the userwants.

In order to solve this problem, there has conventionally been proposed atechnology of classifying the commands that are apt to be usedsimultaneously into respective command groups and displaying themtogether. For example, the CAD system displays, based on the designationby the user, a certain command group in a window on a screen fordesigning. When receiving an instruction of switching the command group,the CAD system displays another command group in the window other thanthe command group previously displayed. This window is called aworkbench or a toolbox, and is widely used in design programs.

In conventional CAD systems, several commands are displayed on theworkbench, for example. Even in designing one part, however, the severalcommands may be insufficient for the required tasks, and thus the usermust change the display of the workbench. Moreover, as design phasesproceed from the initial planning phase to the final drafting phase, thecommands being used may also change. For this reason, the designoperation has required a designer's skill or the design operation hasbeen sluggish, so that there has been a case where efficiency of thedesign process has deteriorated.

There has also been proposed a system for aligning icons displayed onthe window in order of frequency in use, or in order of access time. Ifsuch a system is applied, the icons for inputting the commands can bealigned in order of frequency in use, or in order of access time. In aCAD system, however, the commands to be used may change according to thedesign phase, so that the command being used immediately before theoperation may not be used in future phases. Moreover, an icon being usedat high frequency for a certain design object may not be used for otherdesign objects at all.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method, asystem, and a program which can solve the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method, system, and program product forcontrolling a display on a computer-aided design (CAD) data editingscreen, whereby commands more likely to be utilized are preferentiallydisplayed.

A first aspect of the invention provides a method for controlling adisplay on an editing screen of a computer-aided design (CAD) system,the method comprising: recording a history of commands executed whileediting component data; designating component data as intended as a newediting object; retrieving a history of commands corresponding to editedcomponent data determined to be similar to the designated component databased on a predetermined rule; and displaying on an editing screen atleast one command included in the retrieved history of commandspreferentially to other commands.

A second aspect of the invention provides a system for controlling adisplay on an editing screen of a computer-aided design (CAD) system,the system comprising: a system for recording a history of commandsexecuted while editing component data; a system for designatingcomponent data as intended as a new editing object; a system forretrieving a history of commands corresponding to edited component datadetermined to be similar to the designated component data based on apredetermined rule; and a system for displaying on an editing screen atleast one command included in the retrieved history of commandspreferentially to other commands.

A third aspect of the invention provides a program product stored on acomputer-readable medium, which when executed, controls a display on anediting screen of a computer-aided design (CAD) program code, theprogram product comprising: program code for recording a history ofcommands executed while editing component data; program code fordesignating component data as intended as a new editing object; programcode for retrieving a history of commands corresponding to editedcomponent data determined to be similar to the designated component databased on a predetermined rule; and program code for displaying on anediting screen at least one command included in the retrieved history ofcommands preferentially to other commands.

A fourth aspect of the invention provides a method for deploying anapplication for controlling a display on an editing screen of acomputer-aided design (CAD) system, the method comprising: providing acomputer infrastructure being operable to: record a history of commandsexecuted while editing component data; designate component data asintended as a new editing object; retrieve a history of commandscorresponding to edited component data determined to be similar to thedesignated component data based on a predetermined rule; and display onan editing screen at least one command included in the retrieved historyof commands preferentially to other commands.

A fifth aspect of the invention provides computer software embodied in apropagated signal for controlling a display on an editing screen of acomputer-aided design (CAD) system, the computer software comprisinginstructions to cause a computer system to perform the followingfunctions: record a history of commands executed while editing componentdata; designate component data as intended as a new editing object;

retrieve a history of commands corresponding to edited component datadetermined to be similar to the designated component data based on apredetermined rule; and display on an editing screen at least onecommand included in the retrieved history of commands preferentially toother commands.

The illustrative aspects of the present invention are designed to solvethe problems herein described and other problems not discussed, whichare discoverable by a skilled artisan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings that depict various embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an entire con FIGuration of a designaid system;

FIG. 2 illustrates a functional con FIGuration of a design aidapparatus;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a data structure of a parts database;

FIGS. 4A-B illustrate an example of a data structure of a historyrecording unit;

FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow where the design aid apparatus causinga workbench to display a command;

FIG. 6 illustrates a process flow continuing from that of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates a process flow continuing from that of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 illustrates a process flow in a modification thereof;

FIG. 9 illustrates a display example on a screen of a user terminal; and

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a hardware con FIGuration of aninformation-processing apparatus serving as the design aid apparatus.

It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. Thedrawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention,and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of theinvention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elementsbetween the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As indicated above, the invention provides a method, system, and programproduct for controlling a display on a computer-aided design (CAD) dataediting screen, whereby commands more likely to be utilized arepreferentially displayed.

While the present invention will be hereinafter described throughpreferred embodiments of the present invention, the following preferredembodiments do not limit the present invention defined in the claims,and all of the combinations of features described in the preferredembodiments are not necessary to solve problems of the invention.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an entire configuration of a design aidsystem 10. The design aid system 10 is provided with a user terminal 15,a design aid apparatus 20, and a parts DB 30. The user terminal 15 isconnected to the design aid apparatus 20 via a communication line, suchas a local area network or the like. The user terminal 15 then acquiresdesign information of a part to be a design object from the design aidapparatus 20 to display it on a screen of the user terminal 15. Thedesign aid apparatus 20 manages the parts DB 30 on which the designinformation of the parts are recorded. The design aid apparatus 20 thenreads the design information from the parts DB 30 based on aninstruction received from the user terminal 15 to transmit it to theuser terminal 15.

The design aid apparatus 20 in accordance with the present embodimentaims at displaying commands suitable for a part to be designed moreintelligibly than other commands, upon displaying the commands fordesigning the part along with the design information of the part on theuser terminal 15.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of the functions of the design aidapparatus 20. The design aid apparatus 20 is provided with an input unit200, a user identification unit 210, an acquiring unit 220, a selectingunit 230, a determining unit 240, a retrieving unit 250, a historyrecording unit 255, a display controlling unit 260, a command DB 265,and a design aid unit 270. The input unit 200 is operable to inputidentification information of a user who newly edits the designinformation of the part (henceforth referred to as a user ID). Moreover,the input unit 200 is operable to input designation of the designinformation of a part to be newly edited. The designation of the designinformation may be a file itself which stores the design information ofthe part, may be a file name of that file, and may be identificationinformation for identifying the part on the parts DB 30 (henceforthreferred to as a part ID).

Meanwhile, the design information of the part is an example of acomponent data intended as an editing object (object to be edited). Thecomponent data in a CAD environment is a unit of edit (editing unit),and is a concept including not only the design information of the partbut also the design information of a constituting component of afinished product being currently designed. The component data mayinclude, for example, an outline of a part, a two-dimensional form ofridgelines of a part, or the like. Alternatively, data which the designaid apparatus 20 deems an editing object may be a document which can beedited with a word processor, a table and a graph which can be editedwith a spreadsheet software, or image data, such as an image, aphotograph, or the like. Meanwhile, a part intended as a new designobject is an example of data intended as a new editing object. The dataintended as the new editing object includes not only data that is newlycreated from a state where the data is not present at all, but alsoexisting data. Moreover, the phrase “to edit the design information ofthe part” will be hereinafter referred to as “to design a part.”

The user identification unit 210 identifies a user based on an inputteduser ID. For example, the user identification unit 210 may authenticatethe user by entering a password along with the user ID to identify theuser. The acquiring unit 220 acquires an attribute of a file whichstores design information intended as a new editing object. For example,the acquiring unit 220 may acquire a file name of the file as theattribute of the file. Alternatively, the acquiring unit 220 may acquirean extension of the file or information for indicating an originator ofthe file, as an attribute. Moreover, the acquiring unit 220 acquires adata size of the file from the file. The file used herein is an exampleof an editing unit in accordance with the present invention. That is, inthis example, the user reads the file, which is the editing unit, toupdate the design information, and records an updated result on thefile. The editing unit may be not only a single file but also aplurality of files, and may be a part of a file. In this case, theacquiring unit 220 may acquire a directory name including a plurality offiles as an attribute of an editing unit, instead of the file name.

The selecting unit 230 selects a file having an attribute similar to theacquired attribute. For example, the selecting unit 230 may select afile having a file name similar to the acquired file name from the partsdatabase (DB) 30. Moreover, the selecting unit 230 may select a filefrom a directory having a name the same as or similar to the acquireddirectory name. As used herein, “similar” may include “the same.” Thatis, the selecting unit 230 may select a file having the same attributeas the acquired attribute. As another example, the selecting unit 230may select, from the parts DB 30, a part corresponding to a part ID atleast a part of which is common to the part ID inputted by the inputunit 200, and select a file name that stores the design information.

The determining unit 240 determines a creation phase of the partintended as the new design object, based on the acquired data size. Thecreation phase means each of a plurality of phases from the start ofdata creation to the completion thereof. For example, the determiningunit 240 determines to which phase the creation phase of the partbelongs among a planning phase, a detailed design phase, and a draftingphase (drawing phase). Alternatively, the determining unit 240 may causethe input unit 200 to input a creation phase of a part by a user, anddetermine the inputted creation phase to be the creation phase of thepart. Moreover, the determining unit 240 may determine, based on acommand execution instruction which the display controlling unit 260 hasreceived, a creation phase at which the instructed commands have beenexecuted at the highest frequency. The execution frequency of thecommands can be determined by the history recording unit 255.

The retrieving unit 250 retrieves, from the history recording unit 255,a file name selected by the selecting unit 230, and a history ofcommands corresponding to the creation phase determined by thedetermining unit 240. The history recording unit 255 records, for everydesign information of the edited part, the history of commands that havebeen executed during editing the design information, associating witheach the creation phase of the part. For example, the history recordingunit 255 may record, for every editing unit of the design information,the history of commands that have been executed while editing the designinformation.

The phrase “for every design information of the edited part,” as usedherein, means data subjected to an editing operation at least one timeby the user whether it is completed or not. Moreover, the term“command,” as used herein, means an operation of processing, adding, ordeleting the data. The command may be executed by, for example,designating an icon displayed on the screen of the user terminal 15. Thehistory recording unit 255 may further record, for every user, thehistory of commands that have been executed in the past in order for theuser to edit the data.

The display controlling unit 260 controls the user terminal 15 so as todisplay the commands recorded on the command DB 265 so that the commandscan be selected by the user. Specifically, the display controlling unit260 displays one or more commands included in the history retrieved bythe retrieving unit 250, on a screen for editing the data intended asthe new editing object, preferentially to other commands. When the inputunit 200 inputs a specific user ID, the display controlling unit 260 maydisplay one or more predetermined commands whatever the retrievedhistory is.

Moreover, the display controlling unit 260 detects that any of thedisplayed commands has been selected by the user based on a signalreceived from the user terminal 15. In response to the detection, thedisplay controlling unit 260 notifies that to the design aid unit 270.The design aid unit 270 executes the command based on the notice to sendan executed result to the display controlling unit 260. In response tothis, the display controlling unit 260 changes the display on the screenof the user terminal 15. Moreover, the history recording unit 255 addsthe command that has been executed by the design aid unit 270 to thehistory.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a data structure of the parts DB 30.The parts DB 30 records, for every design information of the editedpart, identification information allocated to the part (part ID), designinformation of the part, a part name of the part, and other variouskinds of information. The parts DB 30 further records, for every designinformation of the edited part, a state indicating whether or not it isin a state where the design of the part has been completed and anapproval of an administrator is being requested.

For example, the part ID of a certain part is 2350001, the designinformation is stored in a file called Bracket1.model, and the part nameis bracket revision 1. The parts DB 30 may record various kinds ofinformation, including a fixing position of the part, a designer incharge, a name of department for design, or the like. Moreover, the parthaving the part ID 2360001 is in a state where the design thereof hasalready been completed and approval of the administrator requested.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a data structure of the historyrecording unit 255. The history recording unit 255 records, for everydesign information of the edited part, associated with each of thecreation phases of the part, the history of commands that have beenexecuted during editing the design information. As shown in FIG. 4(A),the history recording unit 255 records, associated with a planning phaseof the part, and for every part, the history of commands that have beenexecuted at the planning phase of the part in order to design the part.For example, this table represents that command A11, command A15,command A34, and command B05 have been executed in this order at theplanning phase of the part having the file name of Bracket1.model.

The history recording unit 255 further records, associated with thedesign information that has already been completed, a data size of thedesign information. For example, the history recording unit 255 records,associated with Bracket4.model which is a file name of a part that hasalready been completed, “12.5 MB” which is the data size thereof.Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4(B), the history recording unit 255 records,associated with the detailed design phase of the part, and for everypart, the history of commands that have been executed at the detaileddesign phase of the part in order to design the part. For example, thistable represents that command F53, command F12, command E06, and commandF03 have been executed in this order at the detailed design phase of thepart having the file name of Bracket1.model.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4(C), the history recording unit 255 records,associated with the drafting phase of the part, and for every part, thehistory of commands that have been executed at the drafting phase of thepart in order to design the part. For example, this table representsthat command G32, command G15, and command X13 have been executed inthis order at the drafting phase of the part having the file name ofBracket1.model.

The phrase “planning phase,” as used herein, means a phase of, forexample, roughly designing an outline of the part in order toappropriately define a relation of interference and contact between theparts. Moreover, the phrase “detailed design phase,” used herein, meansa phase of determining a three-dimensional shape of the part and ofdefining a dimension of each portion of the part. Moreover, the phrase“drafting phase,” as used herein, means a phase of creating a projectionview from the determined three-dimensional shape, and of shaping it soas to be available in a manufacturing process. Since operations thereofgreatly change according to the phases, the commands to be executed arealso different.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the history recording unit 255 addsand records, whenever a command is executed by any of the users, thecommand executed and the history on which the command has been executed.Alternatively, the history of the executed command may be recorded onthe file which stores the design information. Namely, in this case,whenever a file name is inputted by the input unit 200, the historyrecording unit 255 may acquire the history that is recorded on the filehaving that file name, from the file to thereby record it thereon.

As shown in FIG. 4(D), the history recording unit 255 may furtherrecord, for every user, the history of commands that have been executedin the past, in order, for each user. For example, this table representsthat a user having a user ID of suzuki has executed command F52, commandF35, command F12, and command E51 in this order.

As mentioned above, while the functional configuration of the design aidapparatus 20 in accordance with the present embodiment has beendescribed, at least a part of these functions may be provided not in thedesign aid apparatus 20 but in the user terminal 15. Even when such aconfiguration may be employed, it is possible to intelligibly displaythe command to the user to thereby increase its convenience in a mannersimilar to the configuration of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow where the design aid apparatus 20causes a workbench to display commands. The input unit 200 inputs theidentification information (user ID) of the user who newly edits thedesign information of the part, and the user identification unit 210identifies the user (S500). The display controlling unit 260 determineswhether the user is an inspector (reviewer) who merely inspects orreviews the design information without editing it, or is an originator(designer) who creates the design information, based on the user ID, forexample (S510).

In the case that the user is not the originator (i.e., No at S520), thedisplay controlling unit 260 displays commands for inspecting the designinformation without changing the design information of the part,preferentially to other commands (S530). Whether the user is theinspector or the originator may be defined in advance based on the userID. For example, the user ID of the user in an administrative post ofapproving a completed part to be transferred into a manufacturingprocess may be recorded in advance on a DB which is not shown, as aninspector. Alternatively, in the case that the part intended as the newdesign object is in a state where the design of the part has beencompleted and the approval of the administrator is being requested, thedisplay controlling unit 260 may display the command for inspecting thedesign information, preferentially to other commands. This condition canbe determined by referring to a column of the approval request of theparts DB 30.

In the case that the user is the originator (i.e., Yes at S520), theinput unit 200 inputs the file name of the file which stores the designinformation intended as the new editing object from the user, and theacquiring unit 220 acquires the inputted file name (S540). The selectingunit 230 selects a file having a file name similar to the acquired filename (S550). For example, if the acquired file name is BracketV2.model,Bracket1.model, Bracket2.model, Bracket3.model, and Bracket4.model, allincluding Bracket, may be selected.

Next, the acquiring unit 220 acquires the data size of the file, and thedetermining unit 240 determines the creation phase of the part based onthe data size (S560). For example, the determining unit 240 determinesthe creation phase of the part intended as the new editing object basedon a ratio of the acquired data size to the data size of the designinformation of the part which has already been completed. For example,when the design information of the part that has been already completedis 12.5 MB, and the design information of the part intended as the newdesign object is 2 MB, whereby since the ratio results in 20% or less,the determining unit 240 may determine that it is the planning phase.

Alternatively, the acquiring unit 220 may further acquire, from the filewhich stores the design information intended as the new editing object,a history in which the data size of the file has been changed by editingthe design information. In this case, the determining unit 240 maydetermine the creation phase based on the history of the change of thedata size which the acquiring unit 220 has acquired. Namely, forexample, if an increased rate of the data size for a recent week isequal to or less than one third of that for a previous one week, thedetermining unit 240 may determine the creation phase to be at thedetailed design phase, considering that the design of the part hasapproached completion. As further another example, the determining unit240 may cause the input unit 200 to input the creation phase from theuser to thereby determine the inputted creation phase to be the creationphase of the part.

If the creation phase has been determined (i.e., Yes at S570), thedesign aid apparatus 20 transfers to the process shown in FIG. 6.Meanwhile, if the creation phase of the part intended as the new designobject cannot be determined based on the data size (i.e., No at S570),the display controlling unit 260 displays the command corresponding toeach of a plurality of creation phases (S580), and moves to the processshown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process flow continuing from that of FIG. 5. Theretrieving unit 250 retrieves, from the history recording unit 255, afile name selected by the selecting unit 230, and a history of commandscorresponding to the creation phase determined by the determining unit240 (S600). If the retrieval is successful (i.e., Yes at S610), thedisplay controlling unit 260 displays one or more commands included inthe history on a screen for editing the design information intended asthe new editing object, preferentially to other commands (S620).

If the retrieval of the history is not successful (i.e., No at S610), ahistory corresponding to the user identified by the user identificationunit 210 is retrieved from the history recording unit 255 (S630). Thiscan be retrieved from, for example, the data shown in FIG. 4(D).Subsequently, in response to the retrieving unit 250 having retrievedthe history corresponding to the user, the display controlling unit 260displays a command included in the history, preferentially to othercommands (S640).

FIG. 7 illustrates a process flow continuing from that of FIG. 5. Thedisplay controlling unit 260 inputs the command execution instructionfor the command corresponding to each of the creation phases (S700). Theselecting unit 230 determines at which creation phase the frequency ofthe command instructed to be executed is the highest in the past basedon the history recording unit 255 (S710). In the case that the frequencyat the planning phase is the highest (i.e., planning phase at S710), thedisplay controlling unit 260 displays predetermined commands for use inthe planning phase (S720). In the case that the frequency at thedetailed design phase is the highest (i.e., detailed design phase atS710), the display controlling unit 260 displays predetermined commandsfor use in the detailed design phase (S730). Finally, in the case thatthe frequency at the drafting phase is the highest (i.e., drafting phaseat S710), the display controlling unit 260 displays predeterminedcommands for use in the drafting phase (S740).

FIG. 8 illustrates a process flow according to an alternative embodimentof the invention. In this embodiment, the design aid apparatus 20 inputsnot the file name of the file which stores the part, but the part ID.Specifically, the input unit 200 inputs the part ID as the designationof the part intended as the new design object (S540). Subsequently, theselecting unit 230 selects, from the parts DB 30, a part having a partID similar to that part ID resulting from a comparison of both part IDs,and selects a file name of the file which stores the design informationof the part (S550). Since other processes are approximately the same asthose shown in FIGS. 5 through 7, description thereof will be omitted.

Note herein that, the part ID is a numeric value as shown in, forexample FIG. 3. The numeric value then includes a numeric value forrepresenting a type of the part in a specific digit under apredetermined rule. Specifically, numeric values 23 of top two digitsrepresent a part regarding the Bracket. In other words, according tothis rule, it is defined in advance that the parts whose numeric valuesof top two digits are 23 are mutually similar. As a result, theretrieving unit 250 can specify a part defined to be similar to thedesignated part according to the predetermined rule to thereby retrievethe history of commands corresponding to the part.

FIG. 9 illustrates a display example on the screen of the user terminal15. The user terminal 15 displays a design screen 150 for designing thepart. The design screen 150 is a screen for editing the designinformation of the part, and is an example of an editing screen forediting the data. Alternatively, the editing screen may be a screen forinputting, changing, or deleting a text, or may be a screen for creatingor editing an image.

The design screen 150 includes a design information view 152 fordisplaying the part intended as the design object, and a workbench 154for arranging and displaying the commands. The command may be displayedas an icon which can be pointed out with a pointing device. The displaycontrolling unit 260 displays a command in the workbench 154 to therebydisplay the command, preferentially to other commands. In other words,the command displayed in the workbench 154 is intuitively displayed forthe user, allowing it to be easily selected. Other commands aredisplayed in a pull-down menu by selecting a “menu” icon provided at thecentral left in the top of the design screen 150.

Moreover, in the case that the number of commands included in theretrieved history is too large to be displayed in the workbench 154, thedisplay controlling unit 260 may display the commands in the workbench154 in decreasing order of the frequency, and may display some commandsin the aforementioned pull-down menu. Further, the display controllingunit 260 may display the command that has been retrieved more frequentlyon the upper part, or may display the command that has been retrievedmore frequently as a larger icon.

As shown in the foregoing embodiment and modification, according to thedesign aid apparatus 20, upon editing the data in the CAD system, acommand suitable for the type of the data and the creation phase of thepart can be displayed, preferentially to other commands. As a result,the working efficiency of the originator of the data can be improved.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of aninformation-processing apparatus 500 functioning as the design aidapparatus 20. The information-processing apparatus 500 is provided witha CPU peripheral section having a CPU 1000, a RAM 1020, and a graphicscontroller 1075, which are mutually connected by a host controller 1082,an input/output section having a communication interface 1030, a harddisk drive 1040, and a CD-ROM drive 1060, which are connected with thehost controller 1082 through an I/O controller 1084, and a legacy I/Osection having a BIOS 1010, a flexible disk drive 1050, and an I/O chip1070, which are connected with the I/O controller 1084.

The host controller 1082 connects the RAM 1020 with the CPU 1000 whichaccesses the RAM 1020 with a high transfer rate, and the graphicscontroller 1075. The CPU 1000 operates based on a program stored in theBIOS 1010 and the RAM 1020, and controls each section. The graphicscontroller 1075 acquires image data for the CPU 1000 or the like togenerate on a frame buffer provided in the RAM 1020, and displays it onthe display unit 1080. Alternatively, the graphics controller 1075 mayalso include thereinside the frame buffer for storing the image datagenerated by the CPU 1000 or the like.

The I/O controller 1084 connects the host controller 1082 with thecommunication interface 1030 which is a comparatively high speed I/Odevice, the hard disk drive 1040, and the CD-ROM drive 1060. Thecommunication interface 1030 communicates with an external apparatus viaa network. The hard disk drive 1040 stores a program product and datawhich the information-processing apparatus 500 uses. For example, thehard disk drive 1040 may serve as the history recording unit 255 and thecommand DB 265 shown in FIG. 2. The CD-ROM drive 1060 reads a program ordata from a CD-ROM 1095, and provides it to the RAM 1020 or the harddisk drive 1040.

Meanwhile, the BIOS 1010, and comparatively low speed I/O devices, suchas the flexible disk drive 1050 and the I/O chip 1070, are connected tothe I/O controller 1084. The BIOS 1010 stores a boot program which theCPU 1000 executes at the time of booting the information-processingapparatus 500, a program depending on the hardware of theinformation-processing apparatus 500, or the like. The flexible diskdrive 1050 reads a program or data from flexible disk 1090, and providesit to the RAM 1020 or the hard disk drive 1040 via the I/O chip 1070.The I/O chip 1070 connects the flexible disk 1090 with various kinds ofI/O devices via, for example a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboardport, a mouse port, or the like.

The program provided in the information-processing apparatus 500 isstored in recording media, such as the flexible disk 1090, the CD-ROM1095, or an IC card, and is provided by the user. The program is readfrom a recording medium via the I/O chip 1070 and/or the I/O controller1084, and is installed in the information-processing apparatus 500 to beexecuted. Since the operation that the program causes theinformation-processing apparatus 500 to execute is the same as that inthe design aid apparatus 20 described in FIG. 1 through FIG. 9,description thereof will be omitted.

The program described above may be stored in an external storage medium.As the storage medium, other than the flexible disk 1090, and the CD-ROM1095, an optical recording medium such as DVD, PD, or the like, amagneto optic recording medium such as MD or the like, a tape medium, asemiconductor memory such as an IC card, or the like may be used.Moreover, the memory apparatus such as a hard disk, a RAM, or the likeprovided in a server system connected to a private telecommunicationnetwork or the Internet may be used as the recording medium, and theprogram product may be provided to the information-processing apparatus500 via the network.

The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations arepossible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to aperson skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scopeof the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

1. A method for controlling a display on an editing screen of acomputer-aided design (CAD) system, the method comprising: recording ahistory of commands executed while editing component data; designatingcomponent data as intended as a new editing object; retrieving a historyof commands corresponding to edited component data determined to besimilar to the designated component data based on a predetermined rule;and displaying on an editing screen at least one command included in theretrieved history of commands preferentially to other commands.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: recording in a databaseidentification information associated with the edited component data;and selecting from the database edited component data havingidentification information similar to identification informationassociated with the designated component data, wherein retrievingincludes retrieving a history of commands corresponding to the selectedcomponent data.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identificationinformation is selected from a group consisting of: a file name, a fileextension, a file size, a user identification, and a creation phase. 4.The method of claim 2, wherein recording in a database includesrecording at least one of: whether a component associated with thedesignated component data has been completed and whether approval by anadministrator is requested.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein recordingincludes recording a history of commands executed while editingcomponent data during each of a plurality of creation phases.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: acquiring from the designatedcomponent data a file size; and determining a creation phase of thedesignated component data based on the acquired file size and a filesize of edited component data.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thedetermined creation phase is based on a ratio of the acquired file sizeand the file size of the edited component data.
 8. The method of claim1, further comprising: identifying a user, wherein the user has apredetermined permission to at least one of: edit the component data andapprove the component data.
 9. A system for controlling a display on anediting screen of a computer-aided design (CAD) system, the systemcomprising: a system for recording a history of commands executed whileediting component data; a system for designating component data asintended as a new editing object; a system for retrieving a history ofcommands corresponding to edited component data determined to be similarto the designated component data based on a predetermined rule; and asystem for displaying on an editing screen at least one command includedin the retrieved history of commands preferentially to other commands.10. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a system for recording ina database identification information associated with the editedcomponent data; and a system for selecting from the database editedcomponent data having identification information similar toidentification information associated with the designated componentdata, wherein the system for retrieving is operable to retrieve ahistory of commands corresponding to the selected component data. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the identification information isselected from a group consisting of: a file name, a file extension, afile size, a user identification, and a creation phase.
 12. The systemof claim 10, wherein the system for recording is operable to record atleast one of: whether a component associated with the designatedcomponent data has been completed and whether approval by anadministrator is requested.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein thesystem for recording is operable to record a history of commandsexecuted while editing component data during each of a plurality ofcreation phases.
 14. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a systemfor acquiring from the designated component data a file size; and asystem for determining a creation phase of the designated component databased on the acquired file size and a file size of edited componentdata.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the determined creation phaseis based on a ratio of the acquired file size and the file size of theedited component data.
 16. The system of claim 9, further comprising: asystem for identifying a user, wherein the user has permission to atleast one of: edit the component data and approve the component data.17. A program product stored on a computer-readable medium, which whenexecuted, controls a display on an editing screen of a computer-aideddesign (CAD) program code, the program product comprising: program codefor recording a history of commands executed while editing componentdata; program code for designating component data as intended as a newediting object; program code for retrieving a history of commandscorresponding to edited component data determined to be similar to thedesignated component data based on a predetermined rule; and programcode for displaying on an editing screen at least one command includedin the retrieved history of commands preferentially to other commands.18. The program product of claim 17, further comprising: program codefor recording in a database identification information associated withthe edited component data; and program code for selecting from thedatabase edited component data having identification information similarto identification information associated with the designated componentdata, wherein the program code for retrieving includes program code forretrieving a history of commands corresponding to the selected componentdata.
 19. The program product of claim 18, wherein the identificationinformation is selected from a group consisting of: a file name, a fileextension, a file size, a user identification, and a creation phase. 20.The program product of claim 18, wherein the program code for recordingincludes program code for recording at least one of: whether a componentassociated with the designated component data has been completed andwhether approval by an administrator is requested.
 21. The programproduct of claim 17, wherein the program code for recording includesprogram code for recording a history of commands executed while editingcomponent data during each of a plurality of creation phases.
 22. Theprogram product of claim 17, further comprising: program code foracquiring from the designated component data a file size; and programcode for determining a creation phase of the designated component databased on the acquired file size and a file size of edited componentdata.
 23. The program product of claim 22, wherein the determinedcreation phase is based on a ratio of the acquired file size and thefile size of the edited component data.
 24. The program product of claim17, further comprising: program code for identifying a user, wherein theuser has permission to at least one of: edit the component data andapprove the component data.
 25. A method for deploying an applicationfor controlling a display on an editing screen of a computer-aideddesign (CAD) system, the method comprising: providing a computerinfrastructure being operable to: record a history of commands executedwhile editing component data; designate component data as intended as anew editing object; retrieve a history of commands corresponding toedited component data determined to be similar to the designatedcomponent data based on a predetermined rule; and display on an editingscreen at least one command included in the retrieved history ofcommands preferentially to other commands.
 26. The method of claim 25,wherein the computer infrastructure is further operable to: record in adatabase identification information associated with the edited componentdata; select from the database edited component data havingidentification information similar to identification informationassociated with the designated component data; and retrieve a history ofcommands corresponding to the selected component data.
 27. The method ofclaim 26, wherein the identification information is selected from agroup consisting of: a file name, a file extension, a file size, a useridentification, and a creation phase.
 28. The method of claim 26,wherein the computer infrastructure is operable to record at least oneof: whether a component associated with the designated component datahas been completed and whether approval by an administrator isrequested.
 29. The method of claim 25, wherein the computerinfrastructure is operable to record a history of commands executedwhile editing component data during each of a plurality of creationphases.
 30. The method of claim 25, wherein the computer infrastructureis further operable to: acquire from the designated component data afile size; and determine a creation phase of the designated componentdata based on a ratio of the acquired file size and a file size ofedited component data.
 31. The method of claim 25, wherein the computerinfrastructure is further operable to: identify a user having permissionto at least one of: edit the component data and approve the componentdata.
 32. Computer software embodied in a propagated signal forcontrolling a display on an editing screen of a computer-aided design(CAD) system, the computer software comprising instructions to cause acomputer system to perform the following functions: record a history ofcommands executed while editing component data; designate component dataas intended as a new editing object; retrieve a history of commandscorresponding to edited component data determined to be similar to thedesignated component data based on a predetermined rule; and display onan editing screen at least one command included in the retrieved historyof commands preferentially to other commands.
 33. The computer softwareof claim 32, wherein the computer software further comprisesinstructions to cause the computer system to perform the followingfunctions: record in a database identification information associatedwith the edited component data; select from the database editedcomponent data having identification information similar toidentification information associated with the designated componentdata; and retrieve a history of commands corresponding to the selectedcomponent data, wherein the identification information is selected froma group consisting of: a file name, a file extension, a file size, auser identification, and a creation phase.
 34. The computer software ofclaim 32, wherein the computer software further comprises instructionsto cause the computer system to perform the following functions: acquirefrom the designated component data a file size; and determine a creationphase of the designated component data based on a ratio of the acquiredfile size and a file size of edited component data.
 35. The computersoftware of claim 32, wherein the computer software further comprisesinstructions to cause the computer system to perform the followingfunction: identify a user having permission to at least one of: edit thecomponent data and approve the component data.